Naperville Central junior Ryan Durkin comes off as a quiet personality.
“He’s a little bit shy, but I think he’ll open up now because he’s that much above everyone else,” Redhawks coach Glen Reimers said. “He’s going to have to take on more of a leadership role just because all the other kids in the gym know who he is and look up for him for guidance.”
As an underclassmen the past two seasons, he’s been one of the Naperville Central’s top gymnasts, advancing to the state finals both times.
Now, he’s undeniably the veteran leader of the Redhawks, and is learning how to be a role model for the younger gymnasts.
“I’ve had a few freshmen come up to me and ask for help,” he said. “We’ve got so many kids on the team so coach can’t handle everyone at the same time, so some of the kids will come up and ask me for help with what they’re doing wrong which is really a great thing.”
Last year, Dom DelGrosso regularly contributed a strong all-around score as well as great leadership. Now that he’s gone, Durkin will have to step up and be a leader.
“Sometimes you’re not used to that role,” Reimers said. “But you’re thrust into it.”
After finishing 23rd in the all-around as a freshman, Durkin was 10th last year despite counting three falls. He also advanced to the individual event finals on pommel horse, where he placed fourth.
Now he looks for an even better season.
“I have been working the entire offseason with my club team, so I’m feeling pretty good,” he said. “I’m not really changing anything except for pommel horse and still rings. Those are two things I’ve focused on most. I pushed up my starting score on pommel horse and changed my dismount on rings.”
Only Lyons senior Chris Rediehs and Niles West junior Nomondalai Jamiyankhuu finished among the Top 15 in the all-around at state last year and are eligible to compete again this spring. With so many great gymnasts graduating, this could be Durkin’s most successful season.
“His rings and pommel horse have improved a lot,” Reimers said. “He’s working really hard on rings with a new dismount, and he had to really work hard for that double layout. We had held back on vault and floor, because of his feet, but he should do well there, and on (parallel) bars he put a trick back in that he had taken out when he hurt his finger (last year). Overall, he’s looking really good.”
The Redhawks opened their season with a triangular meet at Libertyville on March 14.
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“We are very excited for that first meet to see what we look like as a team,” Durkin said. “It’s pretty nerve-wracking until you finally get out there. Last year I didn’t do as well as I wanted to at the start, so my personal goals are to be better than I was last year.”
Naperville Central fell short of qualifying for state as a team by 0.65 of a point last spring. The Redhawks haven’t advanced to state since 1994, but with Durkin and a solid mix of experienced junior and senior specialists — including senior Karl Jungquist, a transfer from Michigan — this could be their year to return.
Meanwhile, a senior-heavy group will lead Naperville North. Seniors Brandon Louise, Yudai Okabe and Miko Matz are returning state qualifiers while freshman Ethan Soto is the brother of former standout, Josh Soto.
Lastly, Neuqua Valley sophomore Gareth Elkins will represent the Wildcats once the state series arrives as an individual competitor.
Chris R. Walker is a freelance writer.